Content most enjoyed on top US SVOD services, 2022

Original TV programs were selected as the content most enjoyed on Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co.'s Hulu and Disney+, Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video, and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s HBO Max by the largest share of users surveyed. According to data from Kagan's U.S. Consumer Insights online survey conducted in September each year from 2017 to 2022, Netflix users were the most likely to select original TV programs as the content they most enjoyed at 34% with HBO Max and Disney+ users just slightly lower, both at 31%. Other originals — including movies, documentaries, comedy specials, etc. — were more popular among Prime Video users at 19%, Netflix (18%) and HBO Max (17%). HBO Max users were the most likely to select recent movies (released within the past two years) at 24%, while older movies were most selected by Disney+ users at 23%. Hulu users were by far the most likely to select current and prior seasons of network TV as the content they most enjoy on the service at 19% and 18%, respectively.

* The share of surveyed users selecting prior seasons of network TV series as the content most enjoyed on each service continues to decline among Netflix users, according to Kagan U.S. online consumer survey data.

* Hulu users are less likely to most enjoy current season network TV episodes than in prior years as viewers turn to other paid and ad-supported online video services for this content.

* Movies are still an important part of the content libraries of Prime Video, HBO Max and Disney+, although originals have grabbed the largest share of users on these services.

Among Netflix users, original TV programs are back up to 34% after dropping to 28% in 2021. Prior seasons of network TV series continued to decline, from a high of 25% in 2017 down to only 9% in 2022. Current seasons of network TV were up in 2021 at 14%, only to decline slightly to 12% in 2022. Recent movies dropped from 17% in 2021 to 14% in 2022, while older movies went back up to 11% from 8% in 2021.

Hulu users were the most likely to indicate that the content they most enjoy is current (19%) or prior (18%) seasons of network TV compared to users of other services. However, over time Hulu users have been less likely to select this content as what they most enjoy on the service. Users have been shifting from network TV to other content types, especially original content, with small increases for movies (both recent and older).

Original TV programs fell again among Prime Video users surveyed, with only 24% selecting this category as the content they most enjoy on the service, down from 29% the year before and the high point of 33% in 2020. Other originals (movies, documentaries, comedy specials, etc.) rose to 19% in 2022 after hovering around 14% since 2018. Recent movies were on a steady decline from 2017 (28%) to 2020 (18%), but since then rebounded slightly to 20% in our 2022 survey. The share of users selecting older movies has gone up and down a bit over the years but remained around the 15% mark. For network TV content, prior seasons are still down from the 2017 high of 19%, now at 10%, the same share as current season of network TV.

Since the launch of HBO Max in 2020, original TV programs as a category of content most enjoyed decreased from 42% to 31% in 2022. Similar to Netflix, the share levels of surveyed users who most enjoy original TV programs can be a bit of a rollercoaster. Recent movies were down to 24% in 2022 after a big jump to 31% in 2021. Both original TV programs and recent movies are impacted by release schedules, and especially since 2020, restrictions and production delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have played a part in these up-and-down trends.

Content most enjoyed on Disney+ remained largely unchanged compared to 2021, with the only notable movement being a small shift from original TV programs to older movies. Older movies used to be the most selected among Disney+ users at 29% in 2020, only to drop to 20% in 2021. Despite this drop, older movies are still an important content type on the service at 23%, along with recent movies at 20%.

Data presented in this article is from Kagan's U.S. Consumer Insights surveys conducted in September 2017-2022. The online survey included 2,526 (2017), 2,536 (2018), 2,531 (2019), 2,502 (2020), 2,529 (2021) and 2,528 (2022) U.S. internet adults matched by age and gender to the U.S. Census. The survey results have a margin of error of +/-1.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Gen Z adults are ages 18-24. Millennials are ages 25-41; Gen Xers are 42-56 years old; and baby boomers/seniors are 57 and older.

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Consumer Insights is a regular feature from Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence's TMT offering, providing exclusive research and commentary.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.